The bantamweights and featherweights featured on the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” brought a much-needed shot of adrenaline to the show.

When it came to the action inside the cage, there were few of the rest periods seen by fighters in the heavier weight classes. Just as they did in the now-defunct WEC, the smaller guys went at it bell to bell and delivered plenty of finishes.

Of the many tough prospects to emerge from the season, four have survived the reality-show gauntlet, and at stake Saturday night are six-figure, multi-year contracts.

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale takes place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The night’s main card airs on Spike TV while prelims stream on Facebook. Starting in 2012, “TUF” moves to it’s new home on FX, where previously taped fights on the show will air live each week. Saturday is Spike TV’s swan song with the groundbreaking reality series.

Standing over the “TUF” finalists and a host of show veterans populating the card is Michael Bisping (21-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Jason “Mayhem” Miller (24-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who coached opposite each other during six weeks of filming in Sin City. The meet in the finale’s main event. Miller is actually the second choice to coach opposite the Brit; onetime middleweight contender Chael Sonnen was unable to get the necessary second’s (cornerman’s) license in Nevada in time for filming due to a suspension by the California State Athletic Commission.

The traditional season-ending fight between coaches originally was slated as a title-eliminator match. But given the current state of the middleweight division, that designation might not be too far off. Current champ Anderson Silva looks to be out of action until the late spring or early summer, and with Sonnen back in action, the winner of Saturday’s bout could meet him or Mark Munoz to determine Silva’s next challenger.

As with most contender spots, the opportunities available to the winner depend on how compelling a performance is put on. Bisping, who’s long solidified himself as the fighter fans love to hate, stands in a better position to capitalize should he win due to an existing rivalry with Sonnen and a long history of high-profile fights in the UFC. Miller, on the other hand, returns to the promotion six years after a single appearance as a welterweight against suture 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 52. Although “Mayhem” is recognized for his work on the short-lived “Bully Beatdown” series on MTV and his fights in Strikeforce, he is for all intents and purposes further down the middleweight ladder as an almost-new UFC fighter.

Miller’s fight career has suffered in the wake of his unfortunate brawl with the Cesar Gracie fight team following the CBS-televised “Strikeforce: Nashville” in April 2010. Having angered network executives for his role as an instigator in the conflict – his in-cage callout of Jake Shields started that fracas – he essentially was put on the shelf until he was contractually able to move to greener pastures in the UFC. He fought once in September 2010, defeating MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba at DREAM.16, but it will have been about 15 months since he most recently competed when he meets Bisping.

The Brit, meanwhile, fed his controversial reputation in his most recent outing when he threw a blatantly illegal knee against Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 and then spat in the direction of the fighter’s corner in retaliation for a PR buildup that quickly turned personal. Still, he enjoys a three-fight win streak with wins over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Rivera.

Bisping has made a career of a hit-and-run attack that more frequently earns him decisions rather than points. He’s thus expected to keep Miller on the outside and put together combinations that halt any sort of takedown. Miller, a talented jiu-jitsu fighter, has earned the bulk of his wins by submission, and he’s expected to take the fight to the ground, where Bisping is less strong.

“TUF” work for Bermudez, Dodson leading into finals

If we heed oddsmakers, featherweight Bermudez and bantamweight Dodson are the underdogs leading into the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 14.”

Of the two, Bermudez is a sizable dog to Brandao – and for obvious reasons. Brazilian Brandao knocked out three consecutive opponents to earn his spot in the finals, and Bermudez has struggled before overcoming his trio of challenges. Thus, he has about a 25 percent chance of winning the fight according to one popular line.

Dodson gets about 10 more percentage points than Bermudez when it comes to the odds that he’ll win his fight against Dillashaw. Although he stopped two of his three “TUF 14″ opponents with his fists, his paper disadvantage reflects Dillashaw’s undefeated record and solid wrestling credentials.

Dillashaw is expected to veer away from Dodson’s heavy, swinging punches and take the fight to the mat, where Dodson has yet to truly be tested. It’s Dodson’s task to sprawl and stay on the outside, where he can look to wear down Dillashaw with leaping knees and perhaps finish things off with a head kick.

In other main-card action, veteran lightweight Yves Edwards (41-17-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) stands in the way of “The Ultimate Fighter 13″ winner Tony Ferguson’s (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) rise. Edwards most recently got back on the winning track with an impressive TKO victory over Rafaello Oliveira that reversed a vicious knockout loss to Sam Stout. Ferguson, who’s now in his second bout as a lightweight after completing “TUF” as a welterweight, enjoys a two-fight win streak heavily based on his boxing proficiency. However, the seasoned kickboxer Edwards may find himself fending off a takedown from Ferguson, who’s also shown talent in taking fighters to the mat and damaging them there.

Also on the main card, “TUF 14″ vet Louis Gaudinot (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) hopes to rebound after a loss in the reality show’s quarterfinals to Dustin Pague with a win over Johnny Bedford (17-9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who made it to the semifinals before Dodson put him to sleep with hammerfists.

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